Ultraviolet-durable superhydrophobic zinc oxide-coated mesh films for surface and underwater-oil capture and transportation.

In this paper, we report a simple and an inexpensive method for fabricating superhydrophobic/superoleophilic mesh films from microstructured ZnO coatings. The microstructured ZnO coatings, which do not contain any fluorinated compounds, maintain their superhydrophobicity and superoleophilicity after ultraviolet irradiation and display environmental stability. Furthermore, those microstructured ZnO-coated mesh films exhibit good selectivity (even underwater) and excellent recyclability, making them promising candidates for many potential applications, including liquid-liquid separation, water treatment, and liquid transportation.